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Orange is the new orange
Designer Ronald van der Kemp appears at the end of his haute couture fall-winter 2018/2019 fashion show for fashion house RVDK in Paris.
Image:
Regis Duvignau

Six things about SA you need to know

Another SABC board member quits

There has been another resignation on the SABC board. Victor Rambau has tendered his resignation‚ reducing the board to only eight members. TimesLIVE understands that Rambau has written to President Cyril Ramaphosa‚ Communications Minister Nomvula Mokonyane and chairman of parliament’s portfolio committee on communications, Humphrey Maxegwane, informing them of his decision to leave the board. A board member said Maxegwane had been informed by his employer‚ Standard Bank‚ that its employees should no longer serve on boards of listed companies or state-owned companies. Rambau’s resignation presents a minor challenge for the board because with only eight non-executive directors it does not meet the required quorum to take decisions. However, the full board‚ which includes the group CEO and the group CFO‚ can still meet and take decisions.

Man late for wedding clocked at 210km/h

A 31-year-old man who was apparently rushing to make it in time for a wedding was allegedly caught driving at 210km/h on the R21 near Olifantsfontein on the East Rand on Saturday. Gauteng’s community safety department said the speeder‚ who was driving a Mercedes-Benz E350‚ was arrested on the spot by the Gauteng Traffic Police’s High Speed Unit. He was taken to the Olifantsfontein police station where he was formally charged with reckless driving and exceeding the prescribed speed limit of 120km/h on a freeway. The man was later released on R1‚000 bail and would appear in the Tembisa Magistrate’s Court shortly.

Brace for another petrol price hike

The petrol price‚ already at a record high‚ is set to go up again this week. Energy Minister Jeff Radebe has announced that the price of 93 octane will increase by 26 cents per litre and 95 octane by 23c/l on Wednesday. One of the main reasons was a depreciation of the rand against the US dollar (R12.51 to R13.29) during the review period, which led to a higher contribution to the basic fuel price on petrol‚ diesel and illuminating paraffin by 43.21 c/l‚ 44.36 c/l and 44.62 c/l respectively. “The rand’s movements were mainly influenced by global factors. The market has started to become worried about the effect that the trade war between the US and China will have on the global economy‚” Radebe said.

Cash heist fears after explosives stolen

Mpumalanga police are hunting thieves who broke into the Forzando Colliery in Bethal, Mpumalanga and made off with explosives on Friday night. “It is believed that the reason might be to supply daring and vicious gangs who are hell-bent on committing cash-in-transit robberies‚ ATM bombings and other related violent crimes‚” police said. Mpumalanga police commissioner Lieutenant-General Mondli Zuma has appealed to residents to help the police in their investigation, and report information that may lead to arrests and recovery of the explosives to Detective Captain Rian Douglas on 084-2304-630.

Race for DA’s Gauteng premier candidate widens

Former DA national spokesperson Refiloe Ntsekhe has joined the race to become the party’s candidate for premier in Gauteng. She is the fifth high-profile DA leader to do so. Members of the Gauteng legislature Makashule Gana and Jack Bloom are vying for the candidacy with City of Tshwane speaker Katlego Mathebe and MP Ghaleb Cachalia. The party officially closed its application process on Friday. “I have thrown my name in the hat‚” said Ntsekhe. The party is expected to interview the candidates next Friday.

SA kids as young as 8 shooting up heroin

South Africa has emerged as a key player in the global distribution of heroin, according to a multinational report. The Mpumalanga coal-mining towns of eMalahleni and Middelburg have been “decimated” by the trade, since they are a popular stop for truckers ferrying the deadly drug along the N4 from Mozambique ports to Johannesburg. Children as young as eight in these towns are peddling heroin in schools, with one rehab reporting it had treated 48 children for addiction in the past year. The report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime and Interpol says corrupt police and customs officials have allowed international drug traffickers to swarm into South Africa. It names Gauteng’s City Deep container depot as a heroin smugglers' haven, and says 75,000 South Africans inject heroin daily, the highest number in Africa.

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He's having a Wales of a time
A dog plays during a warm spell in Bala Lake, Wales.
Image:
Andrew Yates/Reuters

SIX THINGS ABOUT THE WORLD YOU NEED TO KNOW

Woman tells of shark bite terror

A woman who was pulled into crocodile-infested waters in northwestern Australia when a shark bit her finger as she attempted to feed it has described the terrifying moment which nearly cost her a digit. The two-metre Tawny nurse shark sucked at Melissa Brunning’s right index finger "like a Hoover”, she said. "I think the shark was in shock as much as I was. I came up and I was like: 'I've lost my finger, my finger's gone'." Cellphone footage of the incident in late May showed Brunning screaming as she was dragged into the water before the boat's crew and friends quickly pulled her out. "This is not a shark attack, this is just a blonde doing a stupid thing,” she said. – AFP

Fury after 41-year-old marries girl, 11

The marriage of a Malaysian man with an 11-year-old Thai girl has sparked outrage in the Muslim-majority country with one activist on Sunday labelling the groom a “child predator”. Malaysian Muslims below the age of 16 are allowed to marry if they obtain the permission of a religious court. But the country’s women and families ministry said there was no record of religious authorities approving the union. The 41-year-old husband could be jailed for six months if he married without permission. Malaysian activists have called for law reform to end child marriage. - AFP

Depp's ex hopes she's found Paradis at last

Actress and singer Vanessa Paradis has married French director Samuel Benchetrit. The small ceremony was attended by a few dozen guests, including Paradis’ 19-year-old daughter Lily-Rose Depp, born during her 14-year relationship with Johnny Depp which ended in 2012. Paradis and Benchetrit, both 45, made their relationship official in August 2017. Paradis has two children with Depp, but the couple never married. - AFP

Drake hip-hops to new streaming record

Drake has smashed streaming records with his new album “Scorpion”, with Apple Music and Spotify both reporting unprecedented listenership in its first day. The Canadian hip-hop superstar’s fifth studio album was streamed 170 million times in the 24 hours after its release on Friday. The worldwide figure is the highest ever reported by any streaming service for an album over one day. - AFP

Mystery as entire family is found hanged

Police in India's capital said they found 11 bodies in a home in mysterious circumstances on Sunday, 10 of them blindfolded and hanging from the roof. The victims belonged to a family and most had lived in one. Police are investigating whether the victims - four men, three women and four girls - died by suicide or were killed. No suicide note was found. There were no bullet marks on the bodies of the victims, and there was no sign of forced entry into the house. – The Daily Telegraph

Infamous thief in second spectacular jail-break

A notorious career thief who was once France’s most wanted man pulled off a daring jailbreak on Sunday, fleeing a prison in the Paris area by helicopter. Redoine Faid, 46, broke out of the prison within minutes, helped by a number of heavily-armed men. The escape came after an appeals court sentenced him to 25 years for masterminding a May 2010 botched armed robbery, in which a policewoman was killed. It is the second time Faid has pulled off a spectacular jailbreak — in 2013, he blasted his way out of a prison using dynamite - AFP